merrion street

Opening

Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m delighted to be here with you for today’s Business Leader’s lunch.

Cead mile failte. You’re all very welcome.

This is really a working lunch for Ireland.

As Taoiseach, I get to meet you - the key people working to strengthen the economic ties that bind Ireland and America.

I know you’re not the subject of the songs and poetry for which we are famous - or at least not yet.

But I can assure you all the same you have a very special place in Ireland’s heart.

We know and value what you do for us.

But today I get a chance to fill you in on what we’re doing at our end to look after and indeed strengthen Irish and US business relations.

But before I do I want to say a very warm thank you to our agencies –

Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia, IDA Ireland, Tourism Ireland, the Marine Institute and Science Foundation Ireland, and of course our Embassy here in Washington, for making this event happen.

So today let me fill you in on the journey that Ireland has been on since I last visited this city last year.

The country is now moving in the right direction. While we acknowledge that there is still some way to go, there are reasons to be positive.

Ireland’s Economic Recovery

In the last year we’ve taken big steps forward.

In December after three years of intense sacrifice and hard work by the Irish people Ireland successfully exited the EU/IMF bailout.

Making us the first Eurozone country to do so.

Today the economy is growing.

61,000 new jobs in the last year alone.

In US terms, that would represent an increase of more than five million extra people at work in one year.

We hit our deficit-reduction targets, on time, every time.

But at the same time we managed to put the country back on a solid financial footing.

Consequently, the markets are looking at Ireland and liking what they see.

In January we raised €3.75 billion on the financial markets at a competitive rate - a great signal.

Moody’s decision to upgrade our credit rating was a serious vote of international confidence and making it easier for our businesses to access funding.

But if the markets have been looking at us we’ve been taking a very close look at ourselves.

Competitiveness kept us up at night.

I’m glad it did because three years in we have made big steps in regaining lost competitiveness.

We have reclaimed our reputation as a stable location for investment and jobs.

That is good, some might say very good but it’s not enough.

In fact it’s just the start.

Medium Term Economic Strategy

Because right now we’re implementing a medium-term plan for growth and jobs with two central targets:

Number One: to reduce the Government deficit to under 3% of GDP by 2015 and to eliminate it altogether by 2018.

Number Two: to replace all the 330,000 jobs lost during the recession with new jobs by 2020.

How will we reach them?

By maintaining our relentless focus on the continued responsible management of our public finances.

90% of our budgetary correction is already done.

So we will eliminate the deficit by 2018.

In addition we will finish what we started on Banking Reform.

We have to. So we can make sure our banks are supporting economic recovery.

And of course we will focus relentlessly on creating jobs including through our multi-annual Action-Plan- for-Jobs framework.

TTIP

This time last year Ireland held the Presidency of the EU Council.

I’m proud to say we played a pivotal role in getting the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations underway.

This week, in Brussels, the fourth round of negotiations on a trade-agreement are under way.

Is it an ambitious deal?

Yes.

But an ambitious deal that has the potential to be a real win-win on both sides of the Atlantic.

An ambitious deal that has real promise of delivering jobs and growth for Europe and the US.

Sure the negotiations were never going to be easy.

But easy or not at either side of the Atlantic the benefits are huge.

We can never take our eyes off the prize.

In Ireland we’ll do all we can to secure a substantive deal to the mutual benefit of both our countries.

US – Ireland Economic Relationship

In Irish we have a saying is faoi scath a cheile a mhaireann no alone.

We live and prosper in the shelter of each other.

So the importance to Ireland of a healthy, vibrant and open US economy cannot be over-stated.

Last year as Ireland’s single-largest export market for goods the US consumed over a fifth of our goods exports.

Equally the US is Ireland’s largest trading partner in international-traded services.

With total trade-in-services amounting to more than $40 billion that’s €30 billion in 2012.

As Ireland exports four fifths of everything we produce Irish companies have developed unique strengths and capabilities to compete globally across a range of sectors.

For us exports mean jobs serious amounts of jobs.

Right now Enterprise Ireland-supported companies directly and indirectly support more than 300,000 jobs in the Irish economy.

That’s 16% of our total workforce.

The strength of our transatlantic relationship is its mutuality.

And I’m glad to say that today there are over 220 Irish companies employing tens of thousands of people across all 50 US States.

Exports

Naturally, as a small, open, trading economy, Ireland’s recovery is being driven by exports.

As well as trading strongly in overseas markets Irish entrepreneurs have been innovating strongly with the benefit of a support structure which is among the best anywhere.

I can tell you that Ireland is the perfect location for overseas entrepreneurs.

It is ideal for anyone here considering an innovative start-up.

We have wide-ranging supports and an innovation-friendly eco-system.

And if you are or might be come and see me.

Food and Drink

One of Ireland’s star-performing sectors over recent years has been the food and drink sector.

Here exports approached $13.5 billion (€10bn) for the first time in 2013.

The US market is important to us.

In 2013, the total value of Irish food and drink exports to the US was $700m (€523m) up almost 50% from 2009.

2014 promises further exciting opportunities for Irish food in the US.

Thanks to recent regulatory developments EU beef can be sold in the US for the first time in 15 years.

As beef is one of Ireland’s largest food exports, sold in over 70 countries worldwide, we have positioned ourselves ahead of the competition in preparing for this new market access.

People here know there’s simply nothing like an Irish steak - pink, velvety, the knife goes through it as if it were butter.

And don’t start us on the butter - I know people in Europe crossing borders to get a bit of Kerrygold.

So, overall, we envisage strong export sales-potential as discerning and demanding US consumers realise the infinitely superior quality of Irish grass-fed beef.

This year Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, plans to invest more than $4.5 million (€3.5million) in a new targeted global-marketing campaign called ‘Origin Green’.

This campaign will promote Ireland as a source if not the source of world-class sustainably-produced food and drink.

Central to the campaign is the Origin Green Ambassadors Programme.

Bord Bia already has five US-based Ambassadors, placed in the corporate HQs of companies as prominent as Wal-Mart, Coca-Cola, Abbott Laboratories, and in The World Wildlife Fund.

Inward Investment

As well as selling our goods and services to the world Ireland’s recovery has been driven by our success in attracting inward investment.

Ireland is recognised as a prime location in Europe for businesses wanting to internationalise their operations.

It performs as a world leader in attracting inward investment. Last year this was recognised by Forbes magazine who named Ireland the best country in the world for business.

I am delighted that 2013 proved to be a record year for multinational companies.

We won 164 projects for Ireland.

With 78 coming from companies investing in Ireland for the first time.

That’s an increase of over 7,000 jobs.

In the last year, the companies putting their faith in Ireland include Tyco, Amazon, HedgeServ, Deutsche Bank, Twitter, EMC, eBay, Salesforce, Novartis, Vistakon, Facebook, Zurich, Symantec, De Puy, Yahoo, Sanofi and Indeed.com.

US firms in particular play a major role in Ireland’s economic progress. One striking statistic brings this home - US firms have invested more capital in Ireland since 1990 (some $189bn) than the four BRIC nations combined.

In no other country in the world do US multinationals and US emerging companies have as big a presence as they have in Ireland.

While our shared history influences the commercial links between the US and Ireland, US corporations also need to know that Ireland has a competitive business-offering.

One that can and will deliver a return on their investment.

And yes, I can say here today that Ireland can and does meet and exceed those expectations.

Ireland’s Competitiveness

As I’ve said competitiveness became something of an obsession for us in our plans for economic recovery.

Ireland’s competitiveness has improved dramatically since 2008.

Ireland’s unique value proposition of a talented workforce, an excellent track record and a transparent and attractive corporation tax rate of 12.5% are the reasons that companies invest in Ireland.

Recently the IBM ‘Global Location Trends’ Report put Ireland number one in the world for inward investment by quality and value.

It put us first in Europe and second in the world for the number of investment jobs per capita.

This is testament to how strong the Ireland offering is.

And you can be assured we’ve got the economic kid gloves on.

We’ll be doing everything we can to protect and grow these hard-won gains.

Corporation Tax

Yes, as you can see there’s a mix of why companies invest in Ireland - our talent, our facility with technology, our track record of achievement.

Our rate of corporation tax to which we remain strongly committed is a part of that mix but it is by no means the dominant element.

Ireland is actively engaged in the international debates about corporation-tax practices including in the EU and in the US Congress.

It is clear that the debates reflect the real concerns about the ability of some multinationals to lower their world-wide rate of tax using international structures.

Reflecting of course the global context in which we all now operate.

We are convinced that the best way to tackle this question effectively is for countries to work together at the international level.

Ireland is a strongly committed participant in processes such as the work underway at the OECD, with the support of the G20, on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

We are also committed to continuing to compete fairly to attract new foreign direct investment into Ireland.

Our tax rate, applied fairly, will remain a key part of our strategy.

Tourism

Last year our strategy to bring more tourists to Ireland was phenomenally successful.

The Gathering brought over a million visitors to Ireland from North America.

A record year with growth from the US close to 14 per cent.

I’m happy to say ‘we’ve laid on a little snow on the mountains for you’.

But making it easier than ever to get to Ireland.

There are direct services now from ten gateways, including the launch of Aer Lingus’s new San Francisco to Dublin service at the beginning of April.

Direct air-capacity to the island of Ireland is increasing making it easier for visitors to reach our shores.

The recent launch of the Wild Atlantic Way provides US visitors with new and compelling reasons to holiday in Ireland in 2014.

In fact not alone compelling but, commanding.

Because perhaps the most famous man on earth who wasn’t even on it - Commander Chris Hadfield - has come to give us a hand in promoting it.

Education

Commander Hadfield of course is like her Majesty the Queen something as a gaeilgeoir.

And we hope students here and across the world will follow their example and learn the cupla focal when they come to Ireland to study.

Indeed I’m pleased to say that as well as buying our goods - investing in Ireland and visiting Ireland, increasing numbers of US students are choosing to come to Ireland to pursue and advance their studies.

Ireland is now one of the most popular international destinations for US students. In increasing numbers US students are experiencing for themselves the world class standards and the unique student experience on offer in Irish universities and colleges.

Research

Ireland also has a strong and growing relationship with the US in relation to research and innovation. Today, we see further evidence with the Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT) signing an agreement with Waters Corporation.

And we are also joined today by US organisations involved in marine research. Last year, the EU, US and Canada signed the ‘Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation’. We look forward to ongoing cooperation with our US counterparts to make progress on this important agenda.

Conclusions

Before I finish, I want to thank each one of you for playing a role in Ireland’s economic progress over the past year.

Without you recovery would not have been possible.

At this time of year naturally, we are especially appreciative of our global Irish family.

Particularly our Irish family here in the United States.

You have always done us proud and I hope that with our ongoing recovery we are repaying the compliment.

Thank you for listening for being here and for all you do for Ireland.

I wish all the blessings of St Patrick on you on those you love and on your business.

Go neiri libh.